1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to processing computer code, and, more particularly, to processing non-functional commentary of computer source code.
2. Description of Related Information
Computer source code typically includes non-functional commentary, such as comments describing particular portions of the code or comments providing information about the version or function of the code. Existing systems for processing source code sometimes include components that identify or display the non-functional commentary. However, such components generally facilitate only access to or presentation of the commentary. They are unable to remove the commentary or otherwise make it inaccessible to users that a programmer does not intend to view the commentary.
Other existing systems may include components that store non-functional commentary in a separate file or location as the code is created. Such systems may then allow a user to selectively associate the stored commentary with the source code. In this way, these existing systems may make the non-functional commentary initially inaccessible to end users of the source code, but allow subsequent access to the commentary by, for example, limiting access to only authorized users. A drawback of these systems, however, is that they only enable separation of commentary during the creation of source code, and are thus incapable of cleansing pre-existing code.
Furthermore, many existing systems are directed only to situations where the source code is not revealed to the end users. These systems fail to address concerns where the source is revealed to end user, such as by preventing end users from viewing non-functional commentary that a programmer does not intend for those users to view.
In sum, there is a need for systems that may adequately process pre-existing source code by, for example, automatically identifying and cleansing non-functional commentary from the source code.